8 Ways to Use Natural Gold Mica

#1. Natural Gold Mica Oil Paint
Ingredients: Natural Gold Mica & Refined Walnut Oil

1. Pour small mound of gold mica on a glass palette 2. Pour small amount of walnut oil on top

3. Mix with a palette knife until smooth (adding more oil as needed).

4. Paint!

#2. Flash Guilding
1. Brush an oil or water-based adhesive onto dry painting surface. We used walnut oil.

2. Dip dry, soft brush into dry mica.

3. Dust onto wet surface.

4. Wait until completely dry before blowing or lightly brushing off the excess. This will create a rich, metallic finish.

#3. Natural Gold Egg Tempera Paint
Ingredients: 1 egg & gold mica

1. Crack egg & pour out egg whites, keeping only yolk in shell.
2. Pour yolk onto paper towel to gently dry.
3. Puncture sack around egg yolk and squeeze yolk out into dish.

4. Mix yolk with pigment around 1:1, adjusting as needed depending on pigment type (all pigments absorb liquid differently)

5. Mix & Paint!

6. Dilute paint with water for thinner paint.

Note: A drop or two of Clove Oil can be added to slow spoilage. Tempera paint does not store well once mixed, so paint away! Once painted on paper, this is a very archival paint; once used by the Medieval Monks to create Illuminated Manuscripts.

OTHER USES:

4. Gold Wax: Mix 1 part mica: 3 parts wax. Apply to any surface. Burnish as desired.
5. Gold Modeling Clay: Add to Polymer clay translucent base to create metallic clay.
6. Gold Acrylic Paint: Mix with clear acrylic medium (although not natural) 7. Add to Varnishes for Patina Effects
8. If you add only a tiny amount of mica to walnut oil and brush on the painting surface, the effect is more subtle - the surface becomes translucent and appears to have great depth.

TIPS:
- Don't mix mica in with opaque or white paint, it will get buried and be lost.
- Change the background color that you're painting on and the gold will take on a whole new hue.